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I.Psssh, Reagan was villain enough when he was President, if you ask me.

Many have argued it’s his most natural performance for a reason.



House on Haunted Hill - 1959 version directed by William Castle. Old fashioned scares which must have wowed them in a darkened theater back in the day. It's not quite the same these days but it's still fun. Vincent Price plays a millionaire type who invites five people to spend the night at a supposedly haunted mansion. If they make it to 8 AM the following morning he'll give them 10,000 dollars. Since this is a Castle movie there's an element of cheese running throughout, with disembodied heads earnestly filling in background details and enjoyably silly effects. I've seen four of Castle's "horror" movies and enjoyed them all. 80/100



House on Haunted Hill - 1959 version directed by William Castle. Old fashioned scares which must have wowed them in a darkened theater back in the day. It's not quite the same these days but it's still fun. Vincent Price plays a millionaire type who invites five people to spend the night at a supposedly haunted mansion. If they make it to 8 AM the following morning he'll give them 10,000 dollars. Since this is a Castle movie there's an element of cheese running throughout, with disembodied heads earnestly filling in background details and enjoyably silly effects. I've seen four of Castle's "horror" movies and enjoyed them all. 80/100
Glad to see some love for House on Haunted Hill and William Castle. One of my favorite fun to watch films. Which other Castle films have you seen?



The Final Wish (2018)

Pretty snappy little horror about the strange occurrences that happen in a small town when an absentee son comes home following his fathers death. It's a bit predictable but all the actors do well. A few shocks on the road......seem to be watching a lot of horrors recently!!!




Glad to see some love for House on Haunted Hill and William Castle. One of my favorite fun to watch films. Which other Castle films have you seen?
Uhh, let's see. I've watched The Old Dark House with Tom Poston, Mr. Sardonicus, The Tingler and this one, House on Haunted Hill. And having caught the 2001 version of 13 Ghosts I'd really like to check out Castle's original.



Family Plot - Last year or so, after realizing I was shamefully unfamiliar with a lot of his catalogue, I went on a Hitchcock tear. Along with a number of his more well known features I checked this one out, his final directorial outing. It doesn't measure up to his classics of course but, that being such an unreasonably high bar to clear, it's easily forgiven. This one involves a pair of high end kidnappers, a sex starved (according to one of the characters) medium, her cab driver/wannabe actor/amateur sleuth boyfriend and the traditional murderous henchman. It's a more light-hearted Hitchcock outing and given the mid 70's period in which it was filmed, a lot more frank with it's sexual references. It's also mostly fun with a solid cast featuring Barbara Harris, Bruce Dern, William Devane and Karen Black. Definitely worth watching even if you're not necessarily a Hitchcock completist. 90/100



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.

Blood on the Wall (Sebastian Junger & Nick Quested, 2020)
+ 6.5/10
What We Wanted (Ulrike Kofler, 2020)
6/10
Twenty Two (Guo Ke, 2015)
6.5/10
Secret Zoo (Son Jae-gon, 2020)
6/10

Trying to bring back a dead zoo to life, several friends and employees pose as animals.
Surviving Lunch (Kt Curran, 2019)
+ 6/10
Contracts (Alex Chung, 2019)
4/10
Star in the Night (Don Siegel, 1945)
7/10
Shag (Zelda Barron, 1989)
6.5/10

South Carolina, 1963. Just after graduation, four girlfriends (Bridget Fonda, Annabeth Gish, Page Hannah & Phoebe Cates) go to Myrtle Beach to party and find some boys.
Open Up to Me (Simo Halinen, 2013)
6/10
A Taboo Identity (Michael Hanson & Craig Muckler, 2017)
6.5/10
Cemetery (Carlos Casas, 2019)
6/10
Take a Giant Step (Philip Leacock, 1959)
6.5/10

High schooler Johnny Nash can't fit in with his white neighbors and feels his sick nana (Estelle Hemsley) is the only one who understands him.
Hitler's Hollywood: German Cinema in the Age of Propaganda 1933-45
(Rüdiger Suchsland, 2017)
7/10
Friendsgiving (Nicol Paone, 2020)
5.5/10
Uncle Frank (Alan Ball, 2020)
5.5/10
The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special (Ken Cunningham, 2020)
7/10

Many of the characters are impressed with Kylo Ren's torso, but the Emperor doesn't like his title of Supreme Leader.
Sonja: The White Swan (Anne Sewitsky, 2018)
6/10
Sara's Notebook (Norberto López Amado, 2018)
6/10
aTypical Wednesday (J Lee, 2020)
+ 6/10
Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on the Exorcist (Alexandre O. Philippe, 2019)
+ 7.5/10

Director Friedkin goes in-depth about how The Exorcist was filmed.
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Family Plot - Last year or so, after realizing I was shamefully unfamiliar with a lot of his catalogue, I went on a Hitchcock tear. Along with a number of his more well known features I checked this one out, his final directorial outing. It doesn't measure up to his classics of course but, that being such an unreasonably high bar to clear, it's easily forgiven. This one involves a pair of high end kidnappers, a sex starved (according to one of the characters) medium, her cab driver/wannabe actor/amateur sleuth boyfriend and the traditional murderous henchman. It's a more light-hearted Hitchcock outing and given the mid 70's period in which it was filmed, a lot more frank with it's sexual references. It's also mostly fun with a solid cast featuring Barbara Harris, Bruce Dern, William Devane and Karen Black. Definitely worth watching even if you're not necessarily a Hitchcock completist. 90/100
I don't know why this film gets blasted so much. I mean, I don't think it's perfect, but I laughed the hell out of it. I've seen many, many Hitchcock films, but this one is probably in my "Pretty good" tier.
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I don't know why this film gets blasted so much. I mean, I don't think it's perfect, but I laughed the hell out of it. I've seen many, many Hitchcock films, but this one is probably in my "Pretty good" tier.
I enjoyed the hell out of it too. Both times I watched it. Especially that
WARNING: "" spoilers below
runaway car sequence.



Nightfall - This is a 1956 noir directed by Jacques Tourneur and stars Aldo Ray, a really young Anne Bancroft and James Gregory. Brian Keith and a memorable Rudy Bond (Cuneo from The Godfather) play the heavies, two bank robbers. This is unlike any other noir I've seen with numerous parts set during daylight hours and intriguing scenes at a coastal oilfield and a fashion show. The story revolves around a missing satchel of loot and Tourneur puts his trust in the offbeat plot and lets it carry the story along. Recommended if you're a fan of noir and of Jacques Tourneur. 85/100



I enjoyed the hell out of it too. Both times I watched it. Especially that
WARNING: "" spoilers below
runaway car sequence.
I know, right?? I almost mentioned it on my first post. That scene had me slapping my knee so hard



['64 The Killers]Ah! Yeah. I’m a fan of that version. Siegel directing Marvin, Cassavettes and Dickenson, you can’t go wrong. Also, it had Reagan playing a villain. Worth seeing just for that.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Hitch picked him because he could write sustained sequences that would lend themselves to longer takes.
Re-watched the '64 "Killers" last night. It wasn't nearly as good as I recalled. I loved the actors in it. But it just seemed too pretentious-- in some scenes playing like a satire. The story was a stretch in comparison with the '46 version.

I seem to remember Reagan saying that he believed it was his best work, but I disagree. He was too affable, and had too clean of an image to play a bad guy. He sort of brought it off, but it wasn't believable for me.

Cassavetes was a great actor, but either he was miscast in his role, or Dickenson was in hers. They had zero chemistry. And that's saying something for Dickenson, who was a bonafide sex kitten.

I enjoyed some of the period stuff (I was 20 at the time), and also felt that the music score was a cut above. But this version pales in comparison to the well done 1946 picture with Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, and Edmond O'brien.

Re Cronyn's screenwriting, you might be right that he was adept at writing long scenes.



Nosferatu, Phantom Der Nacht (1979) Herzog/Kinski collaboration

7/10

Pain and Glory (2019) Almodovar.

7/10


The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) Bunuel

7/10.

With Bunuel and Almodovar, The two films above didn’t quite live up to my earlier experiences with their films:
-Belle De Jour ( Bunuel)
- The Skin i Live in (Almodovar)
I will probaby see Exterminating Angels (Bunuel) and Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down (Almodovar). Then I think I am happy with the films i have seen for now. I don’t feel the movies i have seen lately, have led me down the path I was hoping.



Re-watched the '64 "Killers" last night. It wasn't nearly as good as I recalled. I loved the actors in it. But it just seemed too pretentious-- in some scenes playing like a satire. The story was a stretch in comparison with the '46 version.

I seem to remember Reagan saying that he believed it was his best work, but I disagree. He was too affable, and had too clean of an image to play a bad guy. He sort of brought it off, but it wasn't believable for me.

Cassavetes was a great actor, but either he was miscast in his role, or Dickenson was in hers. They had zero chemistry. And that's saying something for Dickenson, who was a bonafide sex kitten.

I enjoyed some of the period stuff (I was 20 at the time), and also felt that the music score was a cut above. But this version pales in comparison to the well done 1946 picture with Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, and Edmond O'brien.

Re Cronyn's screenwriting, you might be right that he was adept at writing long scenes.
I've only seen it the once (seen the original twice). While I definitely didn't prefer it, I doubt I'll have a more negative reaction. Siegel's sensibilities great appeal to me and I enjoy virtually everything I've seen from him (around 13 or so movies).

I may rewatch it before Noirvember comes to a close.



The Dirty Dozen - This 1967 WWII classic has a runtime of two and a half hours and the covert mission that's at the heart of the story doesn't get rolling until the last half hour. But that doesn't end up mattering thanks to director Robert Aldrich and his all star, all male cast. If you check Aldrich's catalogue you'll find he's like a prolific Samuel Fuller. Specializing in mostly action flicks with strong leading men. In this one he had his pick from Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, Clint Walker, John Cassavetes, Robert Ryan, Telly Savalas, Richard Jaeckel, George Kennedy, Donald Sutherland or Ernest Borgnine among others. It's a guy movie with guy humor. But it's never boring. 90/100



Nosferatu, Phantom Der Nacht (1979) Herzog/Kinski collaboration

7/10

Pain and Glory (2019) Almodovar.

7/10


The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) Bunuel

7/10.

With Bunuel and Almodovar, The two films above didn’t quite live up to my earlier experiences with their films:
-Belle De Jour ( Bunuel)
- The Skin i Live in (Almodovar)
I will probaby see Exterminating Angels (Bunuel) and Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down (Almodovar). Then I think I am happy with the films i have seen for now. I don’t feel the movies i have seen lately, have led me down the path I was hoping.
I know the feeling, that was my experience with Casablanca. When something is over-hyped, even just in the film community, it’s hard to not feel disappointed. The Skin I Live In is very bizarre and not for everyone - I had my relationship with someone very close to me grow ice cold for weeks because she really didn’t appreciate that piece of cinema.



'Cleo from 5 to 7'
(Varda)


Pioneering French wave brilliance with a fine balance of tragedy and hope. Cleo is young and vain but just needs to be brought back down to earth. The amount of mirrors in this really ram home the 'self reflection' theme.

8.5/10




Electra Glide in Blue (1973)

A story of a humane motorcycle patrolman who dreams of becoming a detective. Quite a pessimistic film that doesn't play out as you'd expect.
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